Minister of Oceans and Fisheries: "Attending the China Belt and Road Forum Does Not Signify a Delegation"

Minister Cho Seung-hwan Attends Forum in Beijing, China
Delivers Congratulatory Speech at Maritime Cooperation Subcommittee Forum

Cho Seung-hwan, Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, said on the 18th regarding his attendance at the Belt and Road Forum in China, "I do not assign any special significance to the fact that I am part of the Korean government delegation."

Minister Cho attended the "3rd Belt and Road International Cooperation Summit Forum" held in Beijing, China, and met with the press, stating, "While the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries was considering participation, we were invited by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and came here." Prior to this, he participated in the sub-forum on "Maritime Cooperation," a side event of the Belt and Road Summit, emphasizing international community joint efforts and cooperation by saying, "Maritime issues cannot be resolved by the power of a single country."

Minister Cho Seung-hwan of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries emphasized the need for joint efforts and cooperation from the international community, stating, "Maritime issues cannot be resolved by the power of a single nation," during his congratulatory speech at the 'Maritime Cooperation' sub-forum of the Belt and Road Summit Forum held on the 18th at the Beijing International Convention Center in China.
(Photo by Kim Hyun-jung)

When asked whether the minister's attendance reflects the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's willingness to improve Korea-China relations, he refrained from commenting, saying, "This is not something the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries should comment on." However, he added, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Korea also expressed a desire to attend, and it can be seen as an invitation received for the purpose of cooperation among related agencies."

Regarding the agenda for the upcoming bilateral talks with Wang Hong, Vice Minister of China's Ministry of Natural Resources and Director-General of the State Oceanic Administration, Minister Cho explained, "The Korea-China Marine Science Cooperation Center in Qingdao has not been able to hold face-to-face meetings for a long time due to COVID-19, but plans to hold a meeting in November to expand the scope of cooperation," adding, "We will discuss cooperation in the field of marine science going forward." He also mentioned, "We will talk about support for the Our Ocean Conference scheduled for 2025, the UN Ocean Conference whose host will be decided in 2025, and support at the General Assembly of the International Bureau of Expositions (BIE)."

Regarding other schedules, such as meetings with Korean shipping companies operating in China, he said, "We plan to listen to the difficulties faced by the shipping companies," and added, "There are no special issues."

Meanwhile, the Belt and Road Initiative is President Xi Jinping's core foreign strategy to recreate the land and maritime Silk Roads connecting mainland China with Central Asia and Europe. At the 1st Belt and Road Summit in 2017, a government delegation including then-Assemblyman Park Byeong-seok of the Democratic Party was dispatched, and at the 2nd Summit in 2019, Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, participated.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.